R Squared Ltd Takes Position in First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF)

R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Financial Co. (NASDAQ:THFF) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,580 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of THFF. First Financial Corp IN boosted its holdings in shares of First Financial by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. First Financial Corp IN now owns 761,654 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,181,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Financial by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 273,544 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,997,000 after buying an additional 4,743 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in First Financial by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 230,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,100,000 after buying an additional 22,287 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Financial by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 97,608 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,280,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Financial by 81.2% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 73,144 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,698,000 after acquiring an additional 32,783 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of First Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

First Financial Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of THFF opened at $48.19 on Friday. First Financial Co. has a twelve month low of $34.58 and a twelve month high of $51.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $569.12 million, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.20.

First Financial Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 3rd were paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from First Financial’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 3rd. First Financial’s payout ratio is currently 55.28%.

First Financial Profile

First Financial Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial services. The company offers non-interest-bearing demand, interest-bearing demand, savings, time, and other time deposits. It also provides commercial loans primarily to expand a business or finance asset purchases; residential real estate and residential real estate construction loans; and home equity loans and lines, secured loans, and cash/CD secured and unsecured loans.